“Let’s all calm down. Sueleigh, start from the beginning. What did you mean when you said your daddy confess he had blackmailed this man?”
“It’s like I told you. He was blackmailing John. As soon as I found out they had arrested Daddy, I went straight to the jail. He told me all about it.” She had calmed down enough to talk without gulping for air.
“What did he tell you?” I asked, attempting to be as encouraging as possible.
“I know it wasn’t right that he blackmailed John, but I don’t blame him. After the way John blew me and the baby off, it’s no wonder Daddy found a way to get back at him.”
I agreed he had a reason, but that didn’t make it right.
She blew her nose and proceeded with her story. “Daddy said he was just getting John to pay us what he owed. He’s never paid one red cent in support for the baby. Daddy said it was his responsibility to pay and if I wouldn’t make him, he would. I always thought he was just blowing off steam. But he did. He didn’t feel guilty about it, either.” She looked me straight in the face. “He may have been blackmailing him, but I know for a fact he didn’t kill him.”
“You’ve told us that before Sueleigh, but how do you know that for a fact?”
“Because he told me what happened.” She stopped. I silently willed her to continue. “It’s like this.”
As we leaned closer, she studied the wadded tissues.
“A couple of months ago, Daddy was volunteering for the Community Charity Auction. He was helping sort through the donations. You should have seen some of the stuff. You couldn’t give it away, much less sell it. Daddy found this box that was donated by the Tatums.” She hesitated, drawing a deep breath.
“He went through the contents of the box to see if there was anything of value. He was so mad at John. I guess he figured there might be something he could sell on the side and give the money to me and the baby. He picked up an old family Bible, to move it out of the way, and something fell out of it.”
“What?” we asked in unison.
“It was an envelope with instructions to be opened when old man Tatum died. It never was.”
“Which old man Tatum? John’s father?” I tried to put the pieces together.
“No, Joshua Tatum, John’s grandfather. Daddy read the letter and found a deathbed confession by Joshua Tatum. Back in the thirties, a family named Haygood owned quite a bit of land during the gold rush days. Donnie Haygood had promised to sell the land to Joshua, but right before the deal went through, Donnie backed out.”
Bang!
A sudden pounding at the door made us all jump.
“What now?” I got up to send whoever it was away.
I opened the door.
“Hi, Ms. Montgomery.” Leroy pushed his head around the door so he could see who was in the room. “Just wondered how y’all are doing and if there’s anything you need. Hi there, Sueleigh.”
She gave him a little wave.
“We’re doing just fine, Leroy. Thanks for asking. Now if you don’t mind, we’re kind of busy right now.” I held the door firmly to keep him from coming in any further.
“Well, all right, but be sure and let me know if there’s anything I can get y’all.”
“We sure will.” I pushed the door closed with a click and bolted the lock, and rolled my shoulders. That guy still gave me the willies.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I know the Haygood story. I read about it last night.” I plopped down and bid Sueleigh continue.
She nodded. “Local mystery, you know. But, here’s the part that no one knew. Donnie Haygood decided not to sell the land to ole’ man Tatum. Tatum already knew that the land held gold when he offered to buy it. Donnie had discovered gold right before he signed the papers. That’s when he decided to back out of the deal.”
I wondered what connection this story had to John Tatum’s murder, but kept quiet.
“This made ole’ man Tatum madder than a wasp with an infected stinger. He wrote in the letter that he had killed Donnie. Can you believe it? John’s grandfather a murderer.”
We shook our heads back and forth.
“They never caught the murderer,” I offered, remembering the story.
“Where did you read about this murder Trixie?” Dee Dee asked.
“I was researching old murder cases for an article. The Haygood case was one that I read about.”
I crossed my arms, looking to Sueleigh. “This solves the murder of Donnie Haygood, but what about John?”
“After he killed Donnie, he bought the land from his widow. He acted like he was doing her a favor so she could move into town and get work. He admitted he gave her a pittance for her land, but nowhere near what it was worth. Shortly after the purchase, he ‘discovered’ gold on the property. The Tatum Empire was built with blood money. I’d have loved to see John’s face when Daddy showed him that letter.” Tears glinted in the corner of her eyes.
“Wow, unbelievable.” Dee Dee said, the weight of the solved mystery obviously sinking in. “So when your daddy found the letter, he saw the chance to blackmail John?”
“Yes, and it worked. John was willing to pay any amount to keep the information under wraps. He didn’t want anyone to know that his grandfather was a cold-blooded murderer. He didn’t want anything to dirty the Tatum name. Not even an illegitimate daughter.” The tears flowed down her cheeks.
“It still doesn’t prove your daddy’s innocence,” I said. “If anything, this could be used against him.”
“That’s what the sheriff said. But Daddy said that was plum crazy. He was getting a lot of money from him, so why would he want to mess up the money flow? He’d been meeting John every Friday at the museum where he gave the money to Daddy. That day, John never showed up. When it got close to closing time, Daddy left.”
My mind drifted back to the day I interviewed Teresa. Tourists roamed from room to room at the museum. I tried to remember if I’d seen Frank in the stream of faces.
“Daddy didn’t kill John. I just know he didn’t. Please, you’ve got to help me. Since you’re already looking for the real killer you can clear Dee Dee and Daddy at the same time. Please!” She closed her hands together and placed them under her chin as if she were praying.
I looked to Dee Dee and Nana for help. Their response: silence.
“I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask, Sueleigh. I’m not qualified to help your father. You need a professional.” That was not the only reason I hesitated; I swallowed my guilt feelings. No way would I clear Frank if it aimed the spotlight back on Dee Dee. We’d come too far and had tasted freedom.
“Why didn’t your father tell the sheriff this story?” Nana asked.
“He did. Sheriff Wheeler said because Daddy used the letter to blackmail John, it made him look guilty. He called it incriminating evidence. Daddy confessed to blackmailing John, but he never confessed to killing him.” Her eyes still glistened with tears.
My esteem for the Sheriff went down another notch, and I was beginning to feel like I might cry any minute, too.
“Sheriff Wheeler must have built his hunky body by jumping to conclusions,” I snorted, to a trio of their nervous laughter. “If he jumped to conclusions with Dee Dee, he could have jumped to conclusions with Sueleigh’s father, as well.”
Jump, jump, jump - brain fog clouded my mind, and I felt on the edge of hysteria at the hopeful look on her face.
“Look Sueleigh, why don’t you get something to eat? It’s way past lunchtime, and we’ll all feel better if we have something to eat. I can think better on a full stomach.”
“Are you going to help?” Sueleigh asked. Her face brightened with expectation.
“Let me see what I can do. I’ll go over this with Dee Dee and see if we can come up with any ideas. In the meantime, ask your father if he can think of any evidence that might clear him. I’m afraid it doesn’t look good.”